Rewind
by Miss Hanamura
Summary: P4: A collection of couple drabbles inspired by different songs. Latest couple: Akihiko/Mitsuru — "Maybe he was too reckless, but she was too safe."
1. Wonderwall

**A/N: Many thanks to Urter for telling me about this challenge! It was really fun to do (even if 3 minutes isn't enough time for me, and a few of the songs I got were kinda weird for this fandom...). I've actually done something like this before, but I never did anything with it. I decided to upload each drabble one at a time to make things neater. **

**Rules in case anyone's interested:**

**1. Pick a pairing/fandom **

**2. Put your music on shuffle **

**3. Ten dabbles based on the first ten songs **

**4. You only have the length of the song to write it**

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"Wonderwall" by Oasis

_Backbeat the word was on the street_  
_ That the fire in your heart is out_  
_ I'm sure you've heard it all before_  
_ But you never really had a doubt_

_I don't believe that anybody feels_  
_ The way I do about you now_

He doesn't tell anyone at first, but it's pretty easy to see he's breaking. It's in his eyes, the way he leans against the rooftop railing, brown eyes looking to the sky. Always looking to the sky, and nowhere else, looking for some sort of escape in those ink blot clouds. Sometimes he wishes there was something he could do—they were supposed to be best friends; he tells himself that's all they are—but he can't imagine how it must feel to lose someone, so he keeps it to himself.

And settles with watching from afar.

The grass is wet underneath them, and he's sure he's broken a few bones—his chest collapses in itself each time he takes in a sharp breath—but beside him, Yosuke's smiling brightly, despite the purple that's blossoming on his cheek, the red that's pooling on his once white shirt.

And he finds himself smiling too.

Because he was able to do something, after all.


	2. Girl On Fire

**A/N: I'm not so sure about this one. It came to me at 2:30 am when I was trying to sleep. I like it more than the first one, at least.**

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"Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys

_Ohhhh oh oh oh oh_  
_She got both feet on the ground_  
_And she's burning it down_  
_Ohhhh oh oh oh oh_  
_She got her head in the clouds_  
_And she's not backing down_

Even if they never talked, or even looked each other's way—apart from the meetings they had at Junes—of all the girls, Rise admired Chie the most. She knew her limits, and never pushed past them unless she needed to (unless someone they knew was in danger; she'd save them without thinking twice about it, ignoring shouts of protest in the distance).

She knew who she was, and where she was, and what she wanted (and that was admirable in itself). Because she knew, she never strayed away, only burned brighter, smiled wider.

She wasn't like her, or Yukiko, or Naoto—she was one of a kind, beautiful in the tomboy sort of way.

Even if she didn't know it (or thought about it, or even believed it) she was a role model, a silent inspiration for her. The reason she kept on keeping on, and was able to put her mind to things.

All Rise thinks is that if Chie can do it, so can she.

_"Go, Chie-senpai! Knock them out!"_

And she roots for her until her throat goes sore, and she can't possibly shout anymore.


	3. Bite My Tongue

**A/N: Whatever this is, it made me bump up the rating.**

* * *

"Bite My Tongue" by You Me At Six

_I can't recall the last time  
Someone asking how I was  
Last I checked I was a fucking wreck  
I called for help and no one showed up  
So I sit in the dirt_

She used to dream about running away. Now more than ever, because she's here and Yu _isn't_.

She'd give anything to see his smile again.

Hear his song.

_"You're a monster,"_ She cries, because her voice is the only thing she has left.

All he does his smirk (she wants to set him on fire), and reply, _"I know."_

The fog fills her lungs (coats her insides), which she thinks, isn't so bad anymore. She's long since forgotten how to breathe.

She's back where she's started—covered in feathers, and trapped in a cage.

_"He's not coming,"_ He tells her, beautiful and empty like all his other lies. What other choice did she have, but to become his queen.

Maybe when they come to save her, she'll be unrecognizable. She'll be everything they thought she'd be.

Maybe.

But dreaming was for people who had hope.


	4. Feel Again

**A/N: Hello, is anyone still there?**

**I told myself I wouldn't re-use the same character twice. So far, it's made things harder.**

**This was also the first one I ran out of time with, so I didn't even get the chance to introduce Kanji... Whoops... Cue very sloppy, and hastily written ending!**

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"Feel Again" by OneRepublic

_It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face  
I've been everywhere and back trying to replace  
Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb  
Praying like a fool that's been on the run_

The afternoon rush hour of the Yasoinaba train station had just begun, and with a rather heavy heart, Naoto Shirogane picked up her luggage, ready to board.

Like every case she's finished, and come to spend every possibly agonizing (at the same time, gratifying) hour over, she eventually had to leave. Start anew.

Yet she couldn't deny that she'd miss the rural town of Inaba with all it's charms and little wonders—even more so, the friends she had come to know, and bonded with over the past year.

She was never good at goodbyes. So, she left without saying a word.

It made it easier that way, or so she tries to convince herself, as she holds her plush doll that much closer to her chest (beautiful with perfect stitches).

Yes, this was _much_ easier...

* * *

**I know having her hold a plush is pretty ambiguous, but I wasn't sure how else I could allude to the couple.**

**I have failed...**


	5. Forever And Always

"Forever And Always" by Parachute

_She finishes the vows but the beeps are getting too slow  
His voice is almost too low  
As he says, I love you forever, forever and always  
Please just remember even if I'm not there  
I'll always love you, forever and always_

The cardiac monitor beside the bed is the only indicator that she is still alive and well—and Teddie thinks that's a miracle in itself.

He's been standing like this, hunched over the edge of her bed, for over a hour it seems, but he can't tear himself away, just in case something happens, and he's not there.

The fingers wrapped around her wrist tighten, and he swallows. Everything he's been wanting to say.

He was a Shadow.

He wasn't supposed to love.

He wasn't meant to_ feel_.

Everything about him is an accident—and yet, only with her and his dear friends does he feel alive. _Human._

The least he could do was give something back.

A small smile creeps on the blonde's face, and he leans down, pressing a chaste kiss to the sleeping girl's forehead.

"Goodnight, Nana-chan."

_I'll still be here when you wake up._

_I promise._

It's hard to tell, but in the dim light from the window, she mirrors his smile.


	6. Not Pretty Enough

**A/N: I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who's been supporting me this far, and has left a review. You're all so nice, and are truly my inspiration :3 We're about halfway there, so let's make sure to go out with a bang!**

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"Not Pretty Enough" by Kasey Chambers

_Am I not pretty enough  
Is my heart too broken  
Do I cry too much  
Am I too outspoken_

_Don't I make you laugh  
Should I try it harder  
Why do you see right through me_

She thought if she became pretty that all her problems would magically disappear—everything would finally fall into place, and she'd get that happily ever after. And it worked for awhile.

Until high school came.

She finds him leaning against the wall, everyday without fail, chatting up the people that past. Sure, he was an one note basketball player in an even more one note town, but he had a special something—a spark, a dazzling smile that made the heat rush to her face, and butterflies settle in her stomach. The best part was that it was all _real_, not smoke and mirrors or pounds of make-up meant to hide every perfection.

So, she pursues him (through Yu, of course, because she's still afraid of getting hurt), only to find out he liked someone else.

And she'd never be good enough, not for him, not for herself.


	7. In My Veins

**A/N: Wanted to write more, but like the KanNao one, I ran out of time. I should plan things better...**

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"In My Veins" cover by Meghan Tonjes

_Oh, you're in my veins_  
_And I cannot get you out_  
_(Give my gun away when it's loaded)_  
_Oh, you're all I taste_  
_At night inside of my mouth_  
_(If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it)_

The first gift—and possibly her favorite—she receives subsequent to becoming a Velvet Room occupant is a leather-bound notebook. The spine had seen better days—delicate skin hanging off the bones, dripping to reveal it's secrets, it's past life—and on the cover was a series of letters written in faded gold (and even if she could read, she wouldn't know what they said). Like everything she's been given, it was another mystery to solve.

"What is this?" Marie asks, turning the notebook over so all the pages fan out in front of her; the smell of dust still lingers there, and she wrinkles her nose a little when it finally hits her. Whatever it was, it was _old_, that much was for sure.

The corners of Margaret's lips quirk ever so slightly (ever so amused), and she places her hands over hers, flipping the book so it's upright again, "This is a journal for you to record all your thoughts in. With this, you can express your feelings more clearly."

She blows a strand of dark hair out of her face before crossing her arms, clearly unimpressed, "That sounds really lame." Who wanted to write about their feelings, anyway? So _stupid_. She could've gotten her something halfway more useful.

Despite this, Margaret's smile seems to widen, a knowing smile that tells more than she's willing to say, "I'm sure you'll find some use for it."

* * *

When she meets Yu, she's sure that's when she begins to change. She scrawls messages on blank pages in the middle of the night, love letters for her eyes only. Traces his name on her arm with slender fingertips. She was slowly losing who she who she was, blurring into something new entirely.

"I don't know what I'm feeling, and I'm... It _scares_ me." She admits to Margaret one day, who quickly becomes the only one she can turn to for advice.

Poetry was easier than love.


	8. Lover Dearest

**A/N: Only two more to go after this, and I saved the best for last. And by best, I mean the worst possible song to write about, and I couldn't think of any plausible couple for. Erghhhh...**

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"Lover Dearest" by Marianas Trench

_Don't you leave me,  
Well, I'm not sick of you yet,  
Is that as good as it gets?  
I'll just try to hide it, or I could slip into you,  
It's so easy to come back into you_

In the dead of night, alone in his bedroom when his parents think he's asleep or studying or doing whatever else he's supposed to do (but he can't focus, not now; the light from the window is much too bright, and it's suffocating him), he thinks of her.

(How graceful she was crossing stones at the floodplains. The way she used to tease him over the littlest things. The secrets they shared in their smiles; the promise to leave this town, and all their worries behind them. Her laugh—whenever she found something especially funny she snorted. Loudly. She used to laugh until her sides hurt, and he had to join in.)

And why it wasn't him (it felt like he was the one who died). She deserves the air he's breathing. She deserves the life he has.

His only regret was not telling her more (giving her more, enjoying her more) before she left. At first, he blames Junes, that Hanamura kid for stealing all her time (stealing her away from him). They had been estranged ever since she decided to work there.

It occurs to him later that maybe she hadn't left him; he had lost her long ago.


	9. So Contagious

**A/N: I forgot this even existed. Time to dig up that old song list...**

* * *

"So Contagious" by Acceptance

_Could this be out of line? (Could this be out of line?)_  
_ To say you're the only one breaking me down like this_  
_ You're the only one I would take a shot on_  
_ Keep me hanging on so contagiously_

She gingerly tends to his wounds (like his mother would if she were still alive, he thinks)—sighs softly when he cringes (the antiseptic still hurts, no matter how many times it touches his skin), wraps the gauze between his fingers.

"I wish you wouldn't do this, Akihiko." Really means: what would I do without you? and all he can do his roll his eyes in reply. Maybe he was too reckless, but she was too _safe_—how could she deny that adrenaline rush you get whenever you're in danger? It's the only time he feels alive.

"Yeah, I know..." What she does next surprises him—she_ hugs_ him, and all he can do is quietly return the embrace. "I'm sorry."


End file.
